TV's Dr Chris gets an MBE

MANCHESTER GP and top television doctor Chris Steele has received an MBE from the Queen. Dr Steele, a GP in Didsbury since he qualified in 1968, received the honour in recognition of his services to the medical profession and broadcasting.

MANCHESTER GP and top television doctor Chris Steele has received an MBE from the Queen.

Dr Steele, a GP in Didsbury since he qualified in 1968, received the honour in recognition of his services to the medical profession and broadcasting.

The former M.E.N. columnist, who was informed of the honour in December, has been resident doctor on This Morning for 21 years. He first appeared on the show in 1988 and made broadcasting history by showing people how to check their bodies for signs of cancer.

The award comes just months after it was revealed that he was suffering from a potentially serious heart condition. The discovery, made during filming for the ITV show, revealed that the main artery into his heart was 50 per cent blocked.

He went public with the condition in a bid to warn others and stress the need for regular heart disease health checks. Dr Steele, 62, a father of four, was also instrumental in setting up stop-smoking clinics in Manchester and campaigns on youth health issues.

Received

Dr Steele described how he was overcome with emotion when he received the letter telling him about the honour.

He said: "I opened the letter from the palace and just cried when I read it and then handed it to my wife and kids - they were tears of happiness." Dr Steele, married to midwife Monica, was just one of a number of famous faces who received gongs at the Buckingham Palace ceremony.

King of the chat shows Michael Parkinson was knighted for services to broadcasting.

Sir Michael, whose show first appeared on the BBC in 1971, said that he swapped anecdotes with the Queen about last month's royal wedding between her grandson Peter Phillips and Canadian bride Autumn Kelly.

He joked after the ceremony: "It'll be on eBay tonight!

"It is a very great honour. I don't know why I got it, possibly for being charming."

Stuart Rose, 59, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, was also knighted for services to the retail industry and to corporate social responsibility.

Other recipients included Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar and founder of Marie Claire in Britain, who received an OBE.